Fritz fedderke



UNITED STATES PrTENT OFFICE.

FRITZ FEDD'ERKE, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y.

BILLIARD-TABLE.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,458, dated April 5, 1859.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRITZ FEDDERKE, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Billiards; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this speci ication, in whichn Figure l, is a top vie-w of the corner pocket; Fig. 2, a top view of the middle pocket; Fig. 3, a vertical cross section of the same; Fig. 4, an interior vertical view of the cushion piece; Fig. 5, an interior horizontal view of the cushion piece.

Similar letters of reference indicate cor responding part-s in these various figures.

I deem it proper to state that there are at present two kinds of billiards in use, one being the so-called American billiard, with pockets, and the other being termed the French billiard, without pockets. The former is used for carambole, or caromgame and the pocket-gaine, the latter for the caroin game exclusively. Hitherto the owners of public billiard saloons, as well as private gentlemen, possessing billiards, were under necessity either of keeping both kinds of billiards, or of confining themselves toone kind of game only; for the French games could not be played on the American billiards, and the American games were equally inapplicable to the French billiards. In order to fit an American billiard for French games, it is not sufficient to insert cushion pieces over the pockets, but it is essential, first, that such cushion pieces should fit perfectly, in order to form an exact continuation of the cushion throughout the whole billiard; second, that the said cushion pieces should be inserted firmly, so as not to be affected by the striking of the balls on these parts, more than any other part of the cushion; third, that the insertion and the removal of the said cushion pieces Should be easily performed, in order not to injure any part of the billiard by frequent changes from the American to the French table, and vice versa. Having accomplished this re sult, I am enabled to state the nature of my invention to consist, in so constructing a billiard, that it may be changed with ease and security from an American into a French billiard, or vice versa, by effecting a firm and exact continuation of the cushion or proper interruptions of the same in the manner hereinafter described.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I' will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawing F represents the bed, A the corner pocket, B the middle pocket, C the cushion, D the corner cushion piece, E the center cushion piece. The means for inserting and securing the cushion pieces are represented in Figs. 4 and 5.

The back part of the cushion piece is composed of the metal frame K, containing a forked lever L, of which the fulcrum P is continued into the handle N, projecting through the back of the frame. The two ends of the said lever work tw'o movable pins a a of two latches or bolts R R, each of which is provided with a rod r and a iixed eyelet o, through which the said rod may pass. The said rod is surrounded longitudinally by a spiral spring s. The shape and position of the two latches is shown in Fig. 4. Their respective back ends are provided with slots r r, working on pins ai n which are stationary on the inside of the frame. The said frame is secured to the cushion piece by screws, not show'n on the drawings, and the sides are let in thesides of the cushion piece flush with the same, but the two forward ends of the two latches pro ject through the same. When the handle N is turned the upper part of the forked lever L will turn to the left and the lower part of the same to the right as indicated by the arrows; thereby the upper and lower pins a, will move in corresponding directions and thereby the upper and low'er bolt or latch R will be drawn inward, the rods r passing through the eyelets 0 and the spiral springs s being pressed together. The length of the slit r is so regulated that the forward ends of the latches R may be drawn in flush with the sides of the frame -and no farther. When in that position, the cushion piece may be inserted between the jaws of the cushion; and when the pressure on the handle is released the springs s will force the latches outward into corresponding grooves of the jaws, and the said cushion piece will then be firmly maintained and secured in that position. When it is desired, to remove the said cushion piece, the handle is again to be turned, thereby the lOO bolts or latches will release their hold on the jaws. In this manner the cushion pieces may be inserted in, or removed from the respective jaws, and thus the cushion may be continued throughout the whole length and- It will also be observed, especially by the inspection of Fig. 3, that although the cushion piece does not cover the whole of the pocket, the uncovered space u fv, can never be touched by the ball.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

Constructing a billiard which may be changed from an American into a French billiard by effecting a perfect continuation of the cushion throughout the whole length of the same by means of cushion pieces D and E, inserted between and fastened to the jaws by a handle N operating upon a forked lever L latches or bolts R and springs s; and re-converting the French billiard thus formed into an American billiard by removing Vthe said cushion pieces by the same means substantially as described.

Dated New York March 1l, 1859.

. FRITZ FEDDERKE.

Witnesses:

CHARLES WEHLE, Fur.. WEHLE. 

